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I just wanted to thank all those who had read and made comments on the blogs I have (had) on myspace. I really appreciate them, THANK YOU.

Please feel free to post them on here, if you wish.

God Bless,
Brant

080224 Walk - Finally

080224 Walk

This one took forever to upload and to gather the images together (today’s date, 080313). Sorry for the delay.

Interesting/silly facts about today’s walk.

Route: Battery Park, up Church Street to Canal St., back to W. Broadway, and up 6th Avenue to 8th Street over to Astor Place.

Start / Finish Time (approx.): 12:00pm to 4:00pm

Weather: COLD! Again, low 30’s, sunny and breezy, some snow left on the ground

Steps Taken (approx.): unknown

Mileage (approx.): Actual 3.4+

Photos Taken: 214

Money Found: $.08

I decided that I would finish 6th Avenue by starting from the south end and work my way up to where I finished the first walk (080216). This was a good idea especially since the Church that I attended was very near the tip of Manhattan. I went to Faith Exchange, which was on South Broadway, between Trinity Place/Church St. and Rector, near Wall St. and Battery Park. So I headed south to Battery Park, so I could start at the very beginning of Greenwich Street which turns into Trinity Place and then into Church Street. I got a glimpse of the Hudson River through Battery Park before I turned around and headed north. I passed the building the church is in and then Trinity Church (Episcopal). I got quite a few good shots of it. It is a great subject, especially how it juxtaposes all the modern and ultra modern skyscrapers that surround it. Quite a lovely brownstone building.

Continuing on I got to the World Trade Center site. As an observation, it is hard to tell what is going on there with what looks like a disorganized mess of construction equipment and materials. I wish I had more to say about this, but I don’t have much to report. It is just a sad reminder of what happened six and one half years ago. I took a few photos of it and the fire station across from the site (probably not shown in the gallery below).

Moving on, I pass the Cross that was found at the WTC (see pics below). From here the walk got pretty boring. I saw the AT&T building that has absolutely no windows on it. There were a few other interesting bldgs, but not any to write about. I followed Church St. ended and T’ed into Canal Street. There I turned around and went back a few blocks to go back to catch the very beginning of 6th Ave., only to head north again. I crossed Canal and saw the bldg Christi used to work in. Side note: I won’t be mentioning her much, unless I feel it has significance. This one does, because of a few reasons. The first is that I shouldn’t have been able to see that bldgs front door, another bldg had been torn down since the last time I had been in the area. And second was I had some weird feelings when I saw it, having reminders of her. I decided then to completely avoid any area that would possibly remind me of her on these walks, for a while at least.

I had lunch at Cool Bloo, a little take out and delivery place a few blocks north of Canal. The building that it was housed in was probably no wider than about 6 to 6 ½ feet wide, 2 stories and probably 40 or so feet long. On the inside it was no wider than 5 feet. And all this housed a kitchen, cashier counter, spiral stair, bathroom that was out of order and an area where patrons could order. There were windows where customers could order from outside when the weather is warmer. It was quite the site. It is very expensive though. I got a burger (no cheese, that’s always extra) and a chocolate shake for about $14 something. The shake was about $6. I walked up a block to eat at an open space with benches and the sun was shining, so I could at least stay somewhat warm. I couldn’t eat at Cool Bloo, because there was obviously no room, nor seats. It was a pretty good burger and decent shake.

When I was finished with lunch I crossed the street and went back south a few blocks to get a couple of shots that I wanted. I continued north, passing SOHO to my east, and Houston St., ending up between the Village (Greenwich Village) to my east and the West Village to my west. Not much to say about this area (yet, wait ‘til I actually walk them), I did like the urban scale of many of the residential buildings there. I hit the bathroom at a McDonalds. I passed the Supercuts where I ended the previous walk and turned right onto 8th Street (east).

8th St. can feel like forever when walking it and I don’t know why, it’s only really 2 long blocks to Astor Place. I stopped into a few shoe stores looking for a good deal, none that I really liked enough. The shops along this street are anywhere from tattoo parlors, to shoes stores, to some strange club attire shops (clothing), to restaurants, to NYU bldgs. NYU’s main campus, by the way, is between 8th St. to the north, Houston to the south, 6th Ave. to the West and Broadway to the east. Passing 5th Ave. I saw the arch at Washington Square Park (south) and the Empire State Bldg (far north).
The end of my journey today brings me to Astor Place, where Cooper Union, The East Village, NYU students, K-Mart, a SOM (I think?) glass condo tower and St. Marks Place all converge. Playing near the Subway entrance was this bluesie, jazzy, bluegrassish, zydico 3 man band. Each member had there own style. An older black man singing, playing a tin tub, broom stick, string bass, a guitar player of no particular look, but a good musician none-the-less and what seemed to be the band’s leader, playing the keys, a horn on a string around his neck, singing, sporting a suit coat and derby. Though I didn’t recognize what they were playing, they were pretty good, quite entertaining and a very enjoyable end to this day’s walk.

Officially over I go to K-mart to grab a few house hold items that I need and then head home, because I was exhausted.

God Bless,

Brant

The official journal entry for 080216

080216 Walk

Well, I finally uploaded the photos to the photo album. I only chose about 18% from the total images I shot, (yup, 18 images from about 100 total). Some of them are the best shots I had taken. Others are just the touristy shots, Radio City, Macy’s, etc. And some are more informational, like how this city is put together and how it stays running, steam and vault opening, etc.

Here are a few interesting/silly facts about today’s (last Saturday’s actually) walk.

Route: E. 86th Street, East Drive (Central Park), and 6th Avenue from 59th Street to 8th Street

Start / Finish Time (approx.): 2:30pm to 5:30pm (it’s not about speed remember)

Weather: COLD! Low 30’s, sunny and breezy within the “Grid”

Steps Taken (approx.): 8415 (I used a step counter, that I was graciously given)

Mileage (approx.): based on steps = 3.9+ / Actual 4.8+

Photos Taken: approx. 100

Money Found: $.04

I started from home at 2nd Ave & 84th St. and headed north to 86th. I took 86th west to Central Park, where I followed the East Drive, within the park, south. Behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) I saw the Egyptian obelisk. From this drive I saw a knoll that had beautiful sycamore (I think) trees and walked near The Dock, think romantic row boats rides (just not in winter). I made my way down to 6th Avenue or as people outside of the city call it, The Avenue of the Americas. I passed by Radio City Music Hall, near the Diamond District and the MOMA. I also saw the new Bank of America Building, Bryant Park and Macy’s at Herald Square. This, by the way, is one of my favorite public spaces in all of NYC, but just those little islands between the intersections of 6th Ave., Broadway, 32nd through 35th Streets. Anywhere else around here and the tourists can be quite overwhelming.

As I continued through this set of islands, I heard some drums being beaten and had to see what the commotion was all about. There were a group of about 20 plus drummers and flag holders celebrating the Chinese New Year (year of the rat). They were pretty good and an enjoyable diversion from my intended path. (Fun to try and shoot too.)

Making my way back down 6th, I got to 23rd, where I went into Best Buy to thaw out and window shop. I also went to the Barnes & Noble to purchase a new map, so I could physically document where I have been. I passed near my previous employer’s office and 4 blocks later my current employer’s office, where I took a bad photo of me (NO, you can not see it). Passing 14th Street, I entered The Village and I guess really the eastern edge of the West Village. This is where I ran out of battery power in my camera. Which was fine, since I was near my final destination anyway, Supercuts. And one of the better haircuts I have had here, I might add.

Thanks for reading this boring blurb. But like I said previously, this is more for me to document my journeys, than for your entertainment. Good thing, huh? ;)

God Bless,
Brant

Here is the map.

Well, why not!?

Start of the BLOG

(Feb. 18, 2008)

Yup, I am going to try my hand at blogging. I actually have a direction I want to take this too. You see, I have had this strange goal ever since I moved to New York. I wanted to walk every single street in Manhattan, from Battery Park to Inwood, from the Lower East Side to the West Village, and yes this includes all of Harlem. I want to see the entire city, its beauty and its blight (which to me actually has quite a bit of beauty in and of itself).

I have been meaning to start this journey and series of walks for quite a while, but I wanted a digital camera to take along with me. I wanted to record what I thought was unique. It could be architecture and the public spaces created by it, as that is my field. It could be children playing. It could be a homeless person or just a beautifully framed photo with no reasoning behind it other than it was “pretty”. Or it may be a bad photo of some iconic THING, that may or may not be important to me, but I want to be able to say I was there. What ever the case, I couldn't do this until I got my camera. Now that I have it, enough memory cards, and an extra battery I can start this bizarre quest.

There is another part to this too, but not near as intensive. I want to ride every subway train to its last stop. Why not right?

Anyway, I have to start sooner than later, because I don't plan on living here forever. Plus, I feel as if God is getting me ready to transition out of NYC in the next couple of years. And after my first walk this past Saturday, I may have started a little too late. Only time will tell.
Please keep in mind that this is a work in progress. The title may change a few times, the format may as well, and I probably won’t have too much in the form of an organized plan of attack on my routes or locations for some time. So please bare with me, as I try to record my journeys as they occur. This blog is really more for me and keeping track of where I have been and to record what I see, hear, smell, feel sense…you get the idea. So please feel free to ignore this blog, it will most likely bore you.

I hope to post an actual summary and a few photos from it later this week. Below is a glimpse of the first route I took Saturday February 16th, 2008 (thanks to Google Earth).

That’s it for now. God Bless,
Brant